Tuesday, August 8, 2006

Please Stand By

This ain't no princess... there be a whole cup o' peas under that bottom.

(Dictators don't need mattresses.)

Ssshhhhh...

We're trying - trying - to get some sleep around here. Because, you know, what with all of the excitement of WonderBaby sleeping-through-the-night and napping-in-the-crib (as opposed to strapped down in carseat), it all gets to be a bit much. Tiring.Well, that and Mommy's fucking insomnia.

There's nothing more soul-straining than being wide awake, as night stretches open to dawn, while your baby snoozes deeply. Wide awake, and knowing, in your tired, tired bones, that at the precise moment that your eyelids get droopy, hers will snap open and Happy! Busy! Daytime! will commence.

Real blogging will resume after I have caught up on some rest by knocking myself unconscious by smacking my head against the wall.

47 Comments:

This probably won't happen to you (cause it hasn't happened to anyone I've ever spoken to) but I felt WAY more tired when Annabel started sleeping through the night than I did when she was up ever two hours. I know, it was probably a medical something, but it freaked me out.

God, I had the SAME thing happen. I realized that after thirteen months of being up every two hours I had trained my body to keep doing that schedule even when I didn't have to...

It takes a little effort, but I found something that has worked EVERY single time: I review my day (without judgement or opinion) in reverse order. I put Annabelle down to sleep, then I nursed her, then I got out of the shower, then we ate dinner, then I cooked dinner, then I spent some time online, then we went grocery shopping, etc... I usually do it in more detail. But I have never once made it all the way to waking up the morning prior!!

Insomnia SUCKS. I've always had insomnia, but I think that having children completely ruined my ability to sleep like a normal person. My youngest child had reflux and did not sleep at all until he was diagnosed and got meds.

Now that my children are older, and I don't need to worry about them during the might much, I turn to pharmaceuticals. Ambien rocks my world. You could try Bach's Rescue Rememdy. It's a natural herbal supplement that helps you relaxe, but doesn't zonk you out. If you Google it, you'll find plenty of information. I used it when nursing if that's a concern for you.

I laid awake all night last night too. Not one Z the whole night. I thought I took an Ambien, but I still didn't feel sleepy. Then I couldn't remember if I had actually taken it, or if I had just thought about taking it. Of course, I didn't want to take any more and overdose. So I watched the sun come up. SIGH.

Oh...I moan for your tired bones! I am also an insomniac and have whittled away many a night putting pictures in albums, cleaning toilets, watching old movies, blogging, reading blogs, etc... Only to have my body surrender to sleep 10 minutes before the first child comes bounding into my room!

When I read about babies sleeping through the night, I really feel like a jerk for not appreciating how easy Leah was. Was. LOL. She's really got some PERSONALITY now, lol. Payback is a beyotch I guess. LOL.

I went through some temporary insomnia both times once my babies finally started sleeping through the night. I usually didn't have trouble falling asleep, but I woke up frequently throughout the night. I had really programmed myself to wake up at 5 am each morning, no matter what. It was temporary, though. For awhile I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to sleep a solid 7-hour block, but my body's picked up the trick again. Hope yours does too!

Ummmm...I have a wee problem with insomnia as well...and sometimes Mommy needs a Mommys little helper to break the cycle. White noise is always good...as is a shitload of excercise.....alcohol messes it up even more, but that does not stop me.Bon Chance! Anne

Maybe, and I say maybe, becuase i wouldn't want to jink it...but just maybe Wonder Baby has decided that sleeping is a good thing. I hope for your sake it is so and then you can remind yourself how to sleep too.

I know, it makes me feel INSANE! It comes and it goes. I use OTC sleep aids when I need to, sometimes just some valerian root pills, but I take two or three of them. My insomnia seems to be a form of anxiety that gets worse when "my issues" flair-up. Better that than depression, I guess.

Once again congrats on the non-carseat napping, I strive for the same (well, non-lap napping but you know what I mean).

Take your time, smack your head hard and get that sleep.

If that doesn't work, I can read you some of my tenth grade diary where I agonized over some guy named Roger for three months and let me tell you it is the most boring crap I've ever read, so it will put you to sleep for sure baby.

Ugh, that is the worst, lying there waiting for a cry and being certain that it's not worth closing your eyelids because, as you say, the minute you do, the cry will come and it will feel so much more painful for the thwared hope that attends it... But you know, after a couple of weeks of this? You will start to trust the sleep. And it is sooooo good! (At least, until she gets sick or decides to change things up again, that is...)

And is that more hair I see? Go, WonderBaby! Like you need to be more beautiful...

I should note that WonderBaby never does this sort of thing. NEVER. Will usually only go to sleep under coercive circumstances. This day, however, she boycotted napping entirely and just couldn't hold out through dinner to bedtime. She was - after pics were snapped - plucked out of chair and put to bed. Then she woke up 30 minutes later, refreshed, and stayed up 3 hours past her bedtime.

That just sucks in so many ways. I too, am part of the zombie brigade.

Sometimes I try deep breathing, but many times the only thing that helps is to give up trying to sleep and do something else, even if it's staring at same paragraph in the New Yorker for half an hour because I'm too brain dead to go any further.

Aw, what a cutie. I have enough insomnia troubles without introducing an infant into the equation. Thank God I had youth on my side when I had the infants in my life. New parenthood would probably kill me at this stage.

I remember those days. I was so tired one night I fell asleep on the floor in front of my son's crib. You might get some help from the (literally) best parenting tip my wife and I ever received. You can read about it in The Five-Minute Drill. It might save you hours of sleep some night - it certainly did for us.